The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1887-04-14
TROTTING TRACK.

TROTTING TRACK.
PROSPECTS OF THE SPORT FOR
THE SEASON OF 1857.
The Extensive Popularity Of Trotting-A
Bustle Of Preparation ON the Tracks
from Maine to California Notes on
Leading Events and Fsmous Trotters.
OF all the many sports that flourish in
America none is more universally popu-
lar or more faithfully studied than trot-
ting. Startling ss such . statement may
be to the baseball enthusiasts, whose
numbers are great, the fact remains and
is easily demonstrated. Baseball is a
game that is played more or less crudely
by boys all over the country, but only in
few of the great cities is 1t cultivated as
a business and raised to the rank of a
sport. 1t Is true that the series of games
between the best professional clubs at
tract such wide interest that every news
paper feels bound to report them; but
horse racing goes on everywhere. While
all the so.called professional ball clubs
could be named in short paragraph, 1t
would take at least solid column of this
paper to mention simply the locations of
the race tracks that are scattered from
Eastport, Me-, to San Diego, Cal. Fur
ther, while there are legions of so-called
amateur mines in existence. ! cannot re-
call one amateur race course Every big
or little agricultural fair kaS its corre-
spondingly big or little racing season,
and in almost every instance the racing
is limited to trotting. The entire COM
munity turns out and on the struggles of
few minutes are placed the hopes of
years patient training by the owner of
horses.
Under the circumstances therefore 1t
would be futile to attempt anything like
q thorough forecast of the season of 1887.
The journals devoted to the interests of
horse-breeding and racing have an
nouncements in every number of the for
nation Of new trotting associations, and
hundreds of racers are talked about and
even bet on at this early day. For It is
not yet quite the time for the completion
Of the trotting programme. In general
way it can be said that the local associa-
tions all over the land are reporting more
interest than ever in the trotting, and
horsemen are in high feather of expecta-
ton.
The principal events in trotting will
occur on what is known as the "Grand
Circuit" First let me say, in order to be
perfectly clear, that an association is a
company of gentlemen of means inter-
ested in horses and racing who own a
race track or driving park and who offer
prizes, technically known as "purses," to
be competed for on their park. Such
organizations are usually incorporated,
and It may not need saying that the asso-
citation expects to get back the money
offered in purses with profit from the
sums charged to spectators for admission
to the park. On general principles II
follows that the associations offering the
biggest purses will secure the presence Of
the best horses, and the "Grand Circuit" ID
composed of the seven associations whose
purses are notably attractive. Each of the
associations in the circuit opens its park
for few days at time during the sum.
mer, and when the racing is completed
there the horsemen proceed to the mex
nearest association and 60 through {
similar short season, and 90 on until al
the parks in the circuit have been visited
and the racing season is at an end. The
"Grand Circuit" comprises the following
parks: Homewood Park, Pittsburg, Pa.
Exposition Park, Allegheny City, Pa.
Cleveland Driving Park, Cleveland, o.
Rochester Driving Park, Rochester, N
Y; Island Park, Albany, N. Y; Charter
Oak Park, Hartford, Conn; Hampder
Park, Springfield, Mass. As rule thu
trotting at these parks is In the ordel
named, and such will undoubtedly be tht
programme this season. Sometimes, wher
the last race has been trotted in Spring
field, there is an extra week or so at Bos
J ton, but this city is not considered In tn
Grand Circuit. The amount of money
offered by all the associations in thi
circuit varies slightly from year to year
but 1t averages upward Of 800, 1000. l
is interesting to note in connection will
this that the amount of money wageret
at the races in the same circuit Is a littl
more than twelve times as great. Tha
means NO more than the money put VI
with the book-makers at the race track
and takes no account of what may hav
been bet in private or pool rooms in dis
tant cities.
There is a great number of minor cir
cults in the country and new ones ar
> formed every season. Every State ha
two or three, and 1t often happens tina
excellent horses contest in parks no
included in the Grand Circuit. There ar
bound to be good events at Boston, Phil
adelphia, Chicago, St. Louis and Cincin
natl. What horses will race at thes
3 places cannot be told until considerabl
later. There Is every prospect, too, O
. first-rate racing at the Minnesota Stat
Fair Grounds, from June 80 to July
inclusive, under the management of tn
Twin City Driving and Jockey Club, @
Minneapolis and st. Paul. The purse
are 90 high that good horses will
attracted thither. One of helpromisin
new circuits where important events ma
t be looked for comprises seven tracks
= The four parks in Philadelphia, Islam
, Park and Charter Oak Park lboth in tn
!, Grand Circuit slso) and Pohghkeepsi,
: where the Hudson River Driving Park